I was never a fan of The Fabulous Freebirds, but I always respected their hustle. Thirty years ago, The Freebirds were truly one of a kind. Back then, there were either two-man tag teams or stables which consisted of four men or more. A three-man group went against the grain – and The Birds wouldn’t have it any other way.
They were credited as the first to enter and exit the ring with Rock n’ Roll music. Of course, theme music is common place in the business today, but back then it was extraordinary. Beyond their innovation outside the ring, all three members of The Freebirds – Michael “P.S.” Hayes, Buddy “Jack” Roberts, and Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy – were innovative inside the ring as well. Promoters recognized The Birds’ unique ability so much so that they instituted The Freebird Rule. Under this rule, any two members of the group could defend the tag titles on any given night (hint, hint WWE).
Now back to the future, we have The Shield – Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Even though they don’t look much like The Birds, they both have striking similarities when it comes to the roles within their respective groups. For The Freebirds, Hayes was the mouth. A great worker in his own right, he was also the group’s primary talker. For The Shield, Dean Ambrose is Hayes.
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Never the show pony but always the workhorse, the scrappy Roberts kept the fight to the opponent—the glue that kept the team together. Today, Seth Rollins is Roberts. Finally, Gordy was the no nonsense, smash-mouth enforcer. When all else failed, Gordy stepped in with brute force and put boots to asses. Roman Reigns is now Gordy.
The Shield versus The Birds must be no count-out, no DQ: Loser Leave WWE. Why? Honestly, I don’t see any promotion being big enough to hold both Alpha male teams for long.
From the start, I envision The Freebirds walking down the aisle to their customary “Badstreet U.S.A” music. Next, the spotlight captures The Shield in the crowd making their way down to ringside. Before The Shield can cross the crowd barricades, The Freebirds meet them and begin pummeling the formidable threesome into a pulp.
As the match sets in, neither team gains a definite advantage. Then, The Shield finally isolate Roberts. With the match under control, Rollins climbs the ropes and leaps off with a splash. Roberts surprisingly gets his knees up, crushing Rollins’ ribcage. Rollins writhes in pain as Roberts crawls toward his corner.
The crowd at a fever pitch, Roberts makes the tag to Gordy. Gordy is a house of fire, clobbering everyone in sight. Seemingly out of nowhere, Reigns spears Gordy taking the air out of the big man. The Shield quickly close ranks, swarming Gordy and stomping him into the mat. Ambrose sends Hayes crashing to the arena floor; at the same time, Rollins catapults Roberts to the floor.
Reigns motions to his teammates to perform the triple-team powerbomb. They place Gordy in position…they lift him…Bang…they deliver. Gordy lies motionless in a heap. Rollins goes for the cover. The ref counts 1…2…
How does it end? Do The Birds come back or do The Shield win another one? What do you think?